To the 50th anniversary of Zidane: we remember the best and most interesting

Today, June 23, is Zinedine Zidane's 50th birthday. A man who has become a symbol of football for several generations of fans of our favorite game.

Do you know that this could not have happened? As a child, a Frenchman of Algerian descent practiced judo and even has a blue belt, which is two steps away from the black. The only thing I didn't like about Zizu in Japanese martial arts was that in individual sports you were left alone, and this was especially felt during defeats.

So instead of maybe a good, but definitely less known to the world judoka, we got one of the best players in the history of football. And in this text we will remember the best from the career of the legendary Frenchman, whose epoch-making path of a football player has already managed to cross the equally spectacular path of a coach.

World Cup and Golden Ball, when it was not given for the name "Messi"
In 1998, Cannes' pupil and former Bordeaux player won the Golden Ball. Yes, that year Juventus lost for the second time in a row in the Champions League final, but the Frenchman won a team victory with the national team. In the final, "Zizu" made a double at the gate of the Brazilians. These balls were the only ones for him in the tournament, which Zinedine held at the highest level without any effective shots.
 
In the final vote, the French playmaker overtook the nearest pursuer Davor Suker by a landslide - 244 against 68. He was even more ahead of the Brazilian Ronaldo, who received 66 points. However, the star time of "Zubastika" was still ahead.

Goal number 1
The 2001/2002 Champions League victory was the first and only in Zinedine Zidane's playing career. He moved to Juventus from Bordeaux in the summer of 1996, just after the last victory of the Turinese in the most prestigious club tournament on the continent. The next two years, the Bianconeri lost the decisive matches ...

Everything went great with Real, and the goal in the final against Bayer Leverkusen can be called one of the best balls in the history of football. And you just listen to what combination, what last names - Roberto Carlos filed, and Zinedine Zidane scored!

And how did he score ?! Will anyone then call Ziza's left leg "non-working"?

That legendary ball became the winner - "galacticos" won with a score of 2: 1. This game did not miss the Ukrainian mark, as it began with a moment of silence in memory of Valery Lobanovsky, who died two days earlier. And it took place at the familiar Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The big ones do not go without a scandal
No, not even that. A great man will not become great if there is no black spot in his career. In Zidane's case, it is also covered in mystery, because no one can answer the main question: what happened?

The most common version: Marco Materazzi insulted his family "Ziza", and this is what led to the legendary blow to the head in the chest of an Italian. And yet it started so well: it was with Zidane's penalty kick that the final match of the 2006 World Cup against Italy began. And this match, losing to the French, was the last in Zizu's career. And the effective action (with a minus sign) is a bit illogical, but complements the picture result.

Maid from Frankivsk and the Frenchman's love for Italian cuisine
Few people know, but Zidane connects with Ukraine not only the ability to score at Hampden Park. For eight long years, the maid of the Zinedine family was a Ukrainian Lesya Ivankiv, who went to work in Madrid in the distant year 2000, and on her return to her homeland headed the Carpathian village of Poberezhye.

Together with Zinedine's parents, she cared for his four children. He notes that the great football player's favorite dish was Italian pasta. He also really appreciated the pizza that his favorite chef came to cook.

As we can see, 5 years in Turin really did not go in vain. And, perhaps, it was for these delicious dishes that one day Zidane and Materazzi reconciled.

The winning coach
Zidane is a classic example of a great football player becoming a successful coach. And an example of the fact that football intelligence on the field must "shoot" on the coaching bench. On January 4, 2016, he led Real Madrid, won three Champions Leagues in a row, and left Madrid immediately after the memorable 2018 Kyiv final. Maybe not a city, but definitely a club.

The iron argument "with such a composition everyone would win" does not work. Many coaches have had strong teams throughout world history, but winning three consecutive Champions League draws is a unique achievement. We emphasize that no one has achieved this anymore.

Perhaps Zidane is not a "Guardiola", that is, he does not bring new tactical highlights and a radically innovative philosophy to football. He is a winning coach. And at the same time no one will say that his Real played ugly.

Yes, later return foretold only (although for many it is a dream) victory in the Super Cup of Spain and La Liga, but his coaching career at 50 is just beginning. And someone starts it with 11 trophies won.

Let's taste it, ladies and gentlemen!

We have already learned that Zinedine Zidane loves Italian cuisine, and Fr.t his preferences for desserts remain a mystery to us. Our dessert will be a selection of the most exquisite actions and the best heads of the Master.

Cheers, Zizu!